The objective of this study is to examine the cancer mortality experience in the United States relative to cancer etiology. Special emphasis is placed upon the selection of areas in the U.S. for intensive study. Publications from this area of interest have facilitated the design of ongoing analytical investigations to test specific etiologic hypotheses. Included among these are studies of lung cancer in coastal Georgia, bladder cancer in New Jersey, colon cancer in rural Nebraska, and liver cancer in southeast Texas. An analysis of cancer mortality among nonwhites revealed striking similarities in geographic patterns for cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, and esophagus. Site-specific analyses for cancers of the esophagus, buccal cavity and pharynx, and large bowel revealed associations with ethnicity and industry. Industry-specific studies revealed elevated nasal cancer rates in counties with large numbers employed in the furniture industry, and elevated rates for cancers of the lung, nasal cavity and sinuses, and skin in counties where the petroleum industry is most heavily concentrated. We are continuing to expand our data sets, both of reported deaths and measures of exposure. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Mason, T.J., McKay, F.W., Hoover, R., Blot, W.J., Fraumeni, J.F., Jr.: Atlas of Cancer Mortality Among U.S. Nonwhites: 1950-1969, DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 76-1204, 1976, 142 pp. Mason, T.J.: Comment on Reserve Mining: Statistical Evaluation of Carcinogens in the Environment. 4:13-17, 1976.